The purpose of this study is to propose living space planning suited to the needs of the elderly. In this paper, the analysis focuses on the sleeping mode, the place in the daily living space and the contact between elderly couples living in collective housing in Dalian and Harbin in China. The main findings are as follows. 1) About half of the elderly couples want to have separate bedrooms. The actual situation and wishes regarding sharing a bedroom or having separate bedrooms are related to family structure, the number of rooms and area of every generation in a family. 2) The place husband and wife take in the daily living space is related to whether they share a bedroom or have separate bedrooms, what they want to do in the daily living space and the choice of the seat. The form of contact is affected by their actions in contact and the elderly couples' age and health condition. 3) The sleeping mode changes according to the age and the health condition of the elderly. The elderly couples take a middle way as a transition from sharing a bedroom to having separate bedrooms. Moreover, they take the middle way too even after they change to having separate bedrooms because of the consideration of their physical condition and the necessity of nursing.
